Camp Safe and Amusing
by crystal-gem-jessie
Summary: Amy Santiago was NOT excited to be a camp counselor for a bunch of bratty twelve-year-olds, but she was even less excited to have a jerk like Jake Peralta be her group partner. A fluffy, slow-burn fic with awkward, nerdy Amy and cocky, insensitive Jake. Summer Camp AU. [COMPLETE]
1. Week 1: Set-upStaff Introduction - Amy

**Week 1: Set-up and Staff Introduction**

Amy Santiago was enjoying this drive, even though the ever climbing height was making her a little queasy. She liked passing by thousands of trees, she liked singing Vanessa Carlton songs at the top of her lungs, and she liked rolling the windows down and letting the sun dance on her skin. She was so used to New York traffic and concrete jungles that the scenic mountain scape was a welcome change.

"Continue driving for two more miles. The destination is on your right" her GPS said. Amy sighed. She was almost there and she wasn't mentally prepared. She was driving to the campsite of a resident camp called "Camp Safe and Amusing" (worst name ever) where she would have to babysit a bunch of bratty kids for an entire eight weeks. It was more like six though, since the first and last weeks were for set-up and tear-down, but still, it was too long. Amy was pretty sure the kids were going to hate her, especially since everyone in high school hated her. _Hate_ was a strong word. It was more like…they avoided her at all costs because she was an obnoxious nerd who would rather be studying.

The only reason she took this stupid job was so she could save some money before she went to college. Amy was going to St. John's University as a Criminal Justice major and one day, she'd become a great detective, taking down bad guys left and right. Tuition was pretty steep and getting a summer job would at least help her out a bit. She put in dozens of applications, but in the end, this was the only one she was able to land. Amy followed the road as it took a sharp left turn and saw the campsite

"Arriving at your destination" the GPS said. The camp was a huddle of little log cabins and various activities that were meant to engage the children. Amy saw tennis courts, a baseball field, some weird trampoline things with harnesses, and what looked like some hiking trails. She assumed there was more the deeper you went into the camp as well. It looked pretty nice, but she still dreaded it. It wasn't just the inevitable contact with children, but she would have to socialize with the other counselors too. She was sure they would dislike her as much as the kids would. She just wished she could spend her summer reading like she usually did.

She rolled her car into the staff parking lot and took a deep breath.

" _Alright, Amy. You can do this. You're super smart. You can handle a bunch of kids and teenagers_ " She thought, pushing her glasses up and getting out of the car. She went to her trunk to pull out her suitcase and duffle bag, feeling slightly more confident. She shut the trunk door and looked around for any sign that might point her to the orientation meeting. She grabbed the print-out of the orientation e-mail from her pocket and looked for instructions. Her train of thought was interrupted by a gentle chuckle behind her. She turned around and saw a boy her age leaning against a beat-up mustang, laughing at some unheard joke. She briefly thought he was cute, but she had a terrible feeling he was laughing at _her_ so the thought quickly vanished.

"What's so funny?" she asked, hoping he was nice and that his laughter was completely unrelated to her.

"Those glasses big enough for you? They're, like, eating your face" he said, still chuckling to himself. Amy was dumbfounded. She'd been here _thirty seconds_ and already, she was being teased. This guy was going to make her life miserable, wasn't he?

"I-uh-I normally wear contacts, b-but I was driving so-" she said, already flustered and embarrassed. The boy approached her and smiled. She noted that it was a really nice smile.

"Don't be so nervous. Not a big deal, but the kids will _definitely_ tease you and maybe break them if you have those puppies out" he said. Amy wasn't sure if he was being insensitive or kind. Maybe it was both.

"Well, I don't know why that's any of your concern" she said, immediately feeling guilty because it came out crosser than she meant it to.

"Just giving out some friendly advice. My name's Jake Peralta. Want me to help you with your bag? My stuff's inside already, I just came out to get my phone" he said, taking her duffle bag without permission.

"Thanks" Amy said under her breath. They walked on a path that led to a log cabin about three times the size of all the other ones. Amy assumed it was the dining hall.

"You haven't told me your name" Jake Peralta said.

"What?"

"Your name. I still don't know what it is"

"Oh, sorry. Amy. Amy Santiago"

"Santiago? That's a pretty cool name" he said, looking ahead of him. Amy blushed.

"Thank you. Is this your first year here?"

"Yup. You?"

"Yeah. Hey, do you have any idea what's up with the name?" she asked.

"Right?! Like, 'Camp Safe and Amusing'? What the hell is that? It sounds like it's hiding a dirty secret" he said and she laughed.

"It _does_ " she said as they came up to the dining hall. Amy opened the door and was greeted by a lot of loud chattering being made by a dozen or so camp counselors. They took up very little space in the large dining hall yet they still made a lot of ruckus. All of them seemed like the popular type and this made Amy shrink. She suddenly felt self-conscious of her glasses. She and Jake left her bags to the side and he turned to face her.

"So the registration table is at the end. I'll see ya later" he said, darting to a corner of the room with people he already got along well with. His departure made her feel really alone in a room filled with people who had already found their cliques. She tried to ignore the feeling and went up to the registration table. A big, muscular man sat behind it.

"Hi"

"Hey, welcome! I'm Terry, the assistant camp director, what's your name?" he asked with his hand extended for her to shake.

"Amy Santiago. Nice to meet you" she said, shaking his hand. He seemed kind and it made her feel a little better. He looked down at his papers and found her name. He handed her a small packet with the title "Team Leader Guidelines" on it.

"There you go. We're gonna start in about a half-hour, go ahead and introduce yourself to the others" he said, smiling. She smiled back and looked for a place to sit. She thought she would try the group that Jake had joined. There were about five of them huddled in one corner, Jake's back to her.

"Hey, did you know that nerdy girl you walked in with?" one of the boys asked. Amy stopped dead. Was she really already getting made fun of?

"What? No. I just met her when I was grabbing my phone" Jake replied.

"You got the hots for four-eyes, Jake? I saw the way you carried her bag" the boy said. the others laughed.

"N-no! No way, man. I have _standards_ , y'know? I was just helping her out because I'm a gentleman" Jake told the boy. Amy was devastated. She got as far away from the group as she could, hoping to find an area to be by herself. She found an isolated cafeteria bench and sat facing the wall, her back to the entire auditorium.

" _That was so mean. Why did he have to say it like that? I thought we were getting along_ " she thought, hugging her knees to her chest. She told herself it was okay. She was used it.

* * *

Orientation went by faster than Amy expected. Camp director Holt seemed entirely unenthused by the prospect of camp, but he had a sort of commanding quality to him that made Amy want to follow him into war. The best part of his welcome speech was when he asked if anyone had questions and Jake raised his hand.

"Yes?"

"Yeah, hey, what's the origin story behind the name? You know, just for context" Jake said and Amy could almost hear him smiling.

"I wanted to assure parents that the camp was both safe and amusing for their children" Holt said, stoic as ever.

"Ah, got it" Jake said, doing his best to contain his laughter.

Next, Terry led them in horrible, embarrassing "get-to-know-you" games that made Amy feel like even more of a freak. It wasn't that she was bad at the games, but her competitive side got the better of her and these weren't exactly competitive games. There was one game where they all stood in a circle and had to associate their name with a gesture and adjective, then everyone had to repeat it. Amy thought everyone's adjectives were really dumb and boring like "Kind Kate" and "Silly Sonny". Amy had a great word in her head and she doubted any one would one-up it. When it got to be her turn Amy took her index fingers and moved up the corners of her lips to make a smile.

"Amiable Amy" she said, confidently.

"Amiable Amy" they all echoed. She was a little disappointed when Terry didn't say how great of a word it was. The game continued until, at last, it hit Peralta, who had been excitedly waiting his turn for since Terry started. Peralta took a huge lunge into the circle and punched the floor like some sort of superhero while shouting:

"JUGGERNAUT JAKE"

Of course, everyone thought this was great and they all echoed him.

"That's great, Jake. Really fun, the kids will love that when you play with them" Terry said. This sent Amy over-the-edge and she couldn't stop her know-it-all tendencies.

"Juggernaut's a noun, not an adjective" she said, upset that his rule-breaking got him praise. This little outburst earned Amy some dirty looks.

"Well, the first word doesn't necessarily _have_ to be an adjective. As long as it's fun, that's what counts" Terry said.

"Yeah Amy, no need to be so anal. Hey, maybe you should change your name to Anal Amy. Anal's an adjective" Peralta said, again winning laughter from the rest of the counselors. Amy glared at him. She was definitely not liking this guy.

* * *

Over the next couple of days, Amy was relieved to find that there wasn't a lot of time for socializing. There was a surprising amount of work to be done before the kids arrived. All of the cabins had to be cleaned so meticulously that most counselors had to re-clean three or four times. Holt was relentless in his inspections, but Amy made the record by only having to clean her cabin twice. Holt even gave her a slight nod in approval. Amy had a smug smile on her face for the rest of the day after that.

Every night, Amy went back to her bunk exhausted. She had no idea being a camp counselor would be so laborious. The night before the campers arrived, the directors held a special dinner to congratulate everyone on finishing set-up and to give out partner assignments. Everyone was given a partner of the opposite sex and an age bracket that the partners would look after together. They still had their own set of campers though. During the day, the boy counselor had a set of six to eight co-ed campers, same with the girl counselor. During sleeping hours the female counselor would be in the same cabin as all the girls in both sets, while the male counselor got all the boys. The camp directors did this so that when the two sets compete in team sports, the kids wouldn't harbor any "boys vs. girl" tendencies.

It made sense, but Amy wasn't looking forward to working closely with any of the other guys. All of them were buffoons and she cringed at the thought of working with that Peralta guy. Even his name sounded asshole-y.

Once dinner was over, Terry stood at the director table that vaguely reminded her of the professors' table in Harry Potter, since it over looked the camper tables and was in a similar configuration.

"Alright everyone, it's the moment you've all been waiting for. Now Director Holt and I thought very carefully about where to put you all, so don't think this list is arbitrary," Terry said, looking down at his list, "once we've given out your assignments, we'd like you to meet with your partner and work on your welcome banner and camp badges for your team"

Terry began listing off teams and ages, starting from the youngest. The six-year-olds went to the bubbliest of girls and probably the nicest guy that Amy had met here. She was a little annoyed that he was already taken since he was her first choice. Terry went through the seven-year-olds and the eight-year-olds (both of which had two sets of counselors instead of just one pair), the nine-year-olds, and the ten-year-olds. There were only two age brackets left: the eleven-year-olds and the twelve-year-olds. Amy was nervous because she hadn't heard her name yet, or Peralta's.

"The eleven-year-olds will be led by Gina and Charles, and last but not least, we have Jake and Amy heading up the twelve-year-olds. Alright, guys meet with your partners. We have all sorts of crafts out for you to make your banners and your badges. Have fun!" Terry finished. Amy's heart dropped. _Of course_ , she'd be partnered with Peralta. Why had she ever thought otherwise? She looked over at him and he had a big, stupid grin on his face. Well, at least he was enjoying this. He must have like the idea of picking on her for an entire summer.

He motioned for her to come with him to a corner of the room. She begrudgingly followed him, still sour about this turn of events.

"Twelve-year-olds, huh? Hopefully they're not _too_ emotional and pubescent" he said. Amy sighed.

"Peralta, look-"

"Ooh, we're using last names? That's cool, kind of like secret agents. So, what's up _Santiago_?"

"Look, we just need to figure out our banner and camp badges so let's cut the chit-chat" she said. Peralta's smile faltered. She mentally slapped herself. Why did she always sound so mean around him, she tried to redeem herself, "Sorry, sorry, that was harsh. I just mean…I want our banner to blow everyone else's out of the water so we should get started"

This tactic must have worked because Peralta immediately perked up.

"Yeah, we have to think of a really good idea. It needs to be something cool. They're not going to be into anything too kiddy like superheroes and princesses"

"Something mature…like political parties?" Amy suggested.

"What? No!"

"Just a thought"

"What about a Die Hard theme? Best movie ever"

"Ugh, _no_!"

"Well what do you like when you're twelve?" he asked.

"I guess…I liked things that made me feel more adult"

"Yeah, like…it's kinda that age where you pretend you don't like your awesome action figures anymore and you're supposed to only be into girls" Jake said, stroking his chin with his arms crossed.

"Right, so friends and socializing…what about something, like, emojis?"

"Oh! The banner could be like…an iPhone text chat or something" Peralta said.

"Yeah! And then, the badges could be a big emoji with their name on it…"

"What if we have them customize their badges so that they can pick an emoji that fits them best and everyone has a different one?"

"That's a great idea!" Amy said. This was going to leave everyone else in the dust. The two of them ran to the craft table and got their supplies. They worked on the banner first. Amy had better penmanship so she made an outline while Peralta colored. The banner took them a long time, but well worth it because looked great. Terry even came by to check on them and was decidedly impressed. It was the best Amy had felt in days.

The badges went by much faster since the campers would be doing most of the work anyway. They both had to make their own and Amy decided on "Smiley-Face with Halo" emoji, while Jake went for "Smiley-Face with Sunglasses" emoji. They took a step back to look at their work. Jake gave Amy a hard, congratulatory smack to the back.

"Good work, Santiago. Ours is definitely better than the rest of these bozos" he said, motioning to the counselors.

"Yeah, I think the 10-year-old team is going with _Under the Sea_ " Amy said, rolling her eyes.

"Pffft. Lame. Looks like we're going to be a pretty good team" he said as extended his hand for her to shake. She shook his hand, but her smug smile came back.

"Don't get too chummy, Peralta. My kids are totally going to murder your kids when we play capture the flag tomorrow.

"Oh, you wanna bet?" he said, amused and with a glint in his eye.

" _Yeah_ , I think I do"

"Okay, fine. What's on the table?" he asked.

"Hmm…if I win, you wear a _speed-o_ to the pool for a week"

"Wanna see me in a speed-o, Santiago?" Peralta asked, wiggling his eyebrow at her.

" _No_ , I just know that wearing a speed-o will be _really_ embarrassing for you"

"Ha! Alright, fine. Waste it on that. Not like I'd actually care"

"You're bluffing" she said.

"Think what you want. How about we extend this bet and we have to pay the penalties during the last week? Make it a little bit more interesting? Counselor that has the most accumulative wins is the victor" he said, a dangerous tone in his voice.

"Sure, I'm fine with that. Not like it matters, since I'll _definitely_ be winning, but what do you get if you win?"

"I," he said, a massive grin spreading on his face, "get to kiss you. Underneath that huge tree by the hiking trails"

This was the last thing Amy expected of him. Why would he even want that?

"Well, the prospect of that is _truly_ horrifying, but it won't matter because I'm going to beat you by a landslide"

"Oh, we'll see Santiago, we'll see" he said, picking up the rolled up banner and taking it to where the others were.

Amy walked back to her bunk, still confused at how things turned out this way. She cursed her insatiable need to win all the time in everything. She'd never kissed a boy before and if she lost to Peralta…she shivered at the thought. He was probably planning to make it really embarrassing for her and inviting his jerk friends to watch or something gross.

" _Or maybe he just kinda wants to kiss you?_ " she thought. She laughed at herself. There was no way that was the case and just thinking that showed her how naïve she was. She sure did have a vibrant imagination. She told herself it didn't matter, since she was definitely going to win. She put on her pajamas and got under the covers. She fell asleep while trying to wrestle the image of Jake Peralta kissing her out of her head.

* * *

 **AN:** God, this is the longest chapter I have ever written. I'm definitely going to make sure these puppies are shorter in the future. Like, half this length.

I have this headcanon that Amy was this super awkward teenager that had a really hard time expressing herself properly and was always saying the wrong the thing. Oh, and she always has cute, giant glasses on. Yeah, they're def not going anywhere, haha.

This fic is going to be all slow-burn and fluff, with _maybe_ an angsty scene or two. I promise it won't be like my last fic.

Thanks so much for reading! I always really appreciate your comments and feedback. I read every single one and treasure them deeply. See you soon, lovelies! I hope this will help you make it until Sunday!


	2. Week 2: Welcome Week - Jake

**Week 2: Welcome Week - Jake**

"Alright everyone, I wanna see a lot of energy out there. When the kids get off the bus we want them to really pump them up for a great summer" Terry said, giving all the counselors one last pep talk before the buses arrived with the kids. Jake, holding up one half of the emoji banner he made with Amy, knew he was going to _kill_ at getting those kids pumped. Being loud, crazy, and stupid was second nature to him and that's all this was.

He looked over at his partner: Anal Amy. She was furrowing her eye brows, deep in thought. He might have thought it was a cute face, but her sour attitude towards made her decidedly un-cute. He couldn't understand her. They'd be chummy one minute and then she'd seem to remember something and act all annoyed by him the next. Initially, he thought she was _really_ cute and tried to show her what chivalrous guy she was. After all of her cutting comments he threw those thoughts out the window, or at least he _thought_ he had.

" _If I win, she has to kiss me? What kind of asshole does that?_ " He thought to himself. She had got him all wound up with her stupid competition and everything just slipped out. He was mortified at himself for ever saying such a thing. Oh, well. There was nothing he could do now.

" _Well, I guess I could throw the competition_ " he thought. Ha, no. He knew he was going to compete as hard as he could because one, he actually really did _not_ want to wear a speedo and two, he probably wouldn't completely _hate_ kissing Santiago. It certainly wasn't an _awful_ thought.

"Are you ready for this?" Santiago asked.

"Oh, I think the real question is: are _you_ ready for this?" he countered.

"Of course I am. Those kids are gonna be more pumped than if Terry went on steroids"

"I don't think we want them that pumped" Jake said, flashing a look of disgust.

"I just mean they're gonna be really pumped, okay?" she snapped back. Jake liked how easy it was to push her buttons. Literally everything got to her.

"THE BUS IS HERE! GET READY!" Terry yelled, holding up a tambourine he was surely going to use to greet campers. The counselors watched as the bus pulled up to the side walk and parked. The doors opened and the counselors went crazy. Jake was throwing his body all over the place (as much as he could, he still had to hold the banner), but was surprised at the vivacity of Santiago's cheers. She was screaming at sub-human levels and jerking her body in ways that did not flatter her. Jake thought they probably wouldn't flatter anyone, to be fair.

"TWELVE-YEAR-OLDS! TWELVE-YEAR-OLDS!" She started chanting. Jake joined her. The campers quickly filed off the bus, but no twelve-year-olds had approached them yet. All of the campers seemed to be younger. It wasn't until the bus was nearly empty that some of the twelve-year-old campers started filing out. They all moved towards Jake and Santiago, who were still going nuts, very slowly and without much enthusiasm. Poor Santiago just went right in.

"WOO TWELVE-YEAR-OLDS" She said to one particularly unamused girl while holding her hand up requesting a high-five. The girl left her hanging and rolled her eyes.

"Could you both _please_ keep it down? We just spent two hours on a hot bus with a bunch of kids" the girl said. Jake and Amy stopped their hi-jinks, both slightly embarrassed now. Jake counted twelve kids in all and they all looked at the camp like it was a punishment rather than a treat.

"Oh, yeah sure. Uh, well, how about we all go find a nice tree to sit under and we can all introduce ourselves?" Santiago asked. Jake smelled her fear and assumed the kids did too. Jake was relieved to see that they were, at least, obedient because they followed Santiago to a big tree by the open grassy area of the camp. The fourteen of them all sat in a circle while Santiago attempted to be upbeat and peppy once again.

"Okay, how about we all go around and introduce ourselves with one of your hobbies. I'll start. My name is Amy and I like to watch crime shows, and figure out who did it before the detectives on the show do" she said, and Jake had to stare at her. That was almost verbatim what he was going to say, especially since he was going to be the greatest detective to ever live one day.

The kids all went around saying their names and hobbies. Jake didn't bother to memorize them because they'd all have badges on anyway. Jake did learn that the girl that snuffed Santiago initially was named Lauren and her hobby was "pwning noobs at Call of Duty". Once the circle had come all the way around it was Jake's turn.

"Hey, my name is Jake and I like to research old serial killers so I can figure out what makes them tick. I've basically solved the Jack the Ripper case" he said, which quickly earned him a slap from Santiago.

"Maybe not the best subject matter" she said.

"What? It's true" he said, but he did notice the kids looking at him like he was a freak.

* * *

They did a few other get-to-know you games, none of them sparking enthusiasm in the campers. There was one glorious moment where Santiago tried to mimic Jake's awesome name-gesture when she did a big jumping-jack-like motion and called herself "A-bra-ca-da-bra Amy". This led to a boy telling her, with a straight face: "A-bra-ca-da-bra isn't an adjective". The look on her face was priceless.

After badge-making, Jake busted out the list for teams and sleeping arrangements. Jake smirked when he saw Lauren and the boy that pointed out her error (Aaron) were both on her team.

"Alright guys, this is how it's gonna work. Half of you are on my team and half of you are on Amy's. Boys, you'll be bunking in my cabin. Ladies, you'll be bunking with her. My team will be made up of Gillian, Andy, Mark, Hannah, Ben, and Olivia. Amy's team is Lauren, Maria, Jorge, Cathleen, Aaron, and Tyrell"

Jake was a little worried. His kids looked to be a little bit more willing to play ball, but Amy definitely had some athletic kids.

"Well, let's all get dinner and then you'll all have some free time until lights-out" he said, and then proceeded to lead the way to the dining hall.

* * *

The great thing about being a counselor for the twelve-year-olds was that it meant _you_ got free time as well. While, everyone else had to babysit, Jake and Santiago could do pretty much anything since their kids basically watched themselves. Jake sat on an outside bench as all his kids congregated at another, looking intently at their phones. Santiago slid on the bench next to him.

"I'm not sure if you remember, _Peralta_ , but Cathleen has been playing softball since she was six and Jorge is a track star at his school. Getting nervous?"

"Pfft, yeah right. Your kids all hate you. They won't help you win nothin'" Jake said smirking.

"Oh, we'll see about that. Terry just gave me our agenda for tomorrow and our first team sport? Capture the flag" she said, as if this meant she already won.

"Great, I'm excited to take a picture of your face when you lose" he said. Santiago "hmph"ed him and darted to Cathleen, chatting her up about her athletic experience, he was sure. Jake would be lying if he said he wasn't a little nervous about the next day.

* * *

Jake's anxiety was not without justification. Cathleen was nearly impossible to catch and Jorge tagged everyone almost immediately. They had their weaknesses though. None of them really worked together and they relied solely on their brawn. Plus, Lauren and Aaron would literally stand around and do nothing. Jake's group was much more even in ability and they all tried. Capture the flag was a hard lose, but Jake knew that they'd have their day. That didn't stop Santiago from gloating.

"Is it me or is it getting hot in here? I hope you're ready for nice, refreshing _dip_ Peralta" she said fanning herself.

"Okay, one: I know you're heckling me, but everything you just said was super suggestive and super hot and two: just you wait Santiago. Those naysayers in the corner are going to weigh you down and that's when my team is going to show you no mercy"

"Sounds like you're scared Peralta" she as she walked back to her kids.

"I'm not scared, _you're_ scared!" he shouted after her, which earned him a cocky shrug.

* * *

Jake wasn't wrong about the strengths of his team. Santiago's team only beat them by a fraction of a second for the relay race (" _goddammit Andy!_ ") and Jake's team totally dismantled them at dodgeball.

"Suck it, Santiago! This is the reckoning I was talking about" Jake said, giving her his best Miley-Cyrus-Victorious face.

"Talk big all you want, Peralta. I'll destroy you" she said, trying to be intimidating, yet always being strangely seductive-sounding.

"Is that a promise?" he said, raising an eyebrow. This threw her off and she wiped off her smug grin.

"Yes" she said, as she scurried away towards god-knows-where. Jake smiled to himself. He wasn't out of the game yet.

* * *

 **AN** : Here's chapter two! I don't know if you're able to tell or not, but I tried to make the kids really diverse, but I also didn't want to write character descriptions for 12 kids haha. Here's a little breakdown for you, if you're curious:

Amy's Team-

Lauren: White, Ginger

Aaron: Bi-racial: black/white

Cathleen: White

Maria: Hispanic

Tyrell: Black

Jorge: Hispanic

Jake's Team-

Ben: Asian

Andy: White

Hannah: White, Jewish

Mark: Hispanic

Olivia: Hispanic

Gillian: White

The Kids will be integrated more into the story later, but some of them you'll probably never hear of again, haha.

Thanks for reading and hopefully we'll all safely make it to the season finale. I'm just going to keep writing all day in order to keep myself sane.


	3. Week 3: Adventure Week - Amy

**Week 3: Adventure Week – Amy**

As the days passed, Peralta's team started to even out the score. Amy might have had the athletic kids, but Peralta's were a lot more driven. She tried to give her team pep talks to get them more in the spirit, but Aaron and Lauren were never really into doing anything. After a particularly bad loss at badminton Peralta made sure she was aware of her team's failures.

"Six to eight, Santiago. I hope you brought chapstick because you're gonna need it" he said, pointing at her with gun fingers.

"Ugh, you're a pig" she said, her lip curling into a sneer. She hated losing and she hated it even more because it meant _he_ was winning.

"Say whatever you want, won't change the fact that I'm in the lead" he said, and she couldn't really disagree with that.

Near the end of the third week the entire camp went on an adventure hike. The top had a bunch of ropes, tire swings, and even a tree house. Terry explained that it was a pretty easy hike, but there had been reports of snakes so it was important to be on the lookout. The youngest campers took the lead while the eldest took up the rear. Peralta and Amy were in the very back, an uneasy silence consuming them. Amy realized they never really talked except when heckling each other. The stubborn part of her thought that this was good and they should keep it that way, but another part of her felt like she was missing out. She heard him making jokes and telling stories during meals. He was funny.

"Hey, so situation for you: Let's say there's a serial killer, right? And this guy is vicious, he's gonna kill as many people as he can. Now, let's say you can stop him, but the only way to do that is to like, kill someone you're friends with. Not like a _best_ friend, though. Just y'know a friend that you think is cool. Do you let the serial killer kill for as long as it takes to get caught or do you kill your friend? Oh, and _you_ have to kill your friend. You can't like hire an assassin or anything" Peralta explained.

"I-I dunno. I don't think I'd be able to even understand…I have no idea…"

"Why not?"

"Well, I don't really have a friend so…" she said, embarrassed. She moved her glasses up to be better seated on her nose and looked straight ahead.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, now wait a second. I know we're kind of rivals, but we're still friends aren't we?" he asked. Amy thought he might even have sounded hurt. She remembered that first day in the dining hall and all pity left her.

"I dunno, I don't think I really live up to your _standards_ " she said, sending him daggers. Peralta stopped walking, but she hiked on. A few moments later he caught up to her.

"Hey, wait. Santiago, did you hear-" this time Amy stopped.

"Yeah, I heard! I heard you loud and clear. Believe me, I get it-"

" _Amy_! Look out!" Peralta said as he lunged at her, knocking her to the hard earth.

"AUGH!" Peralta screamed. Amy just caught sight of black snake retreating back into the woods as Peralta writhed in agony, clutching his ankle. Amy gasped as she realized what had just happened.

"JAKE! Oh my god, Jake! Stay still I'll get help!" she said, running as fast as she could to get to Terry. The campers she passed started whispering and noticing her panic.

"TERRY! TERRY!" She shouted, until finally, the gigantic man heard her and turned around.

"Amy, what's wrong?" he asked, desperate to help.

" _Jake_! He was bit by a snake!" She said, her breath labored. This was all Terry needed. He immediately ran down the trail with Amy on his heels. When they reached him, Peralta was still writhing and clutching his ankle. Amy noticed a lot of blood was trickling from his hand and her heart sank. Terry started picking him up, but Peralta stopped him.

"Whoa, dude. Please don't pick me up like a bride"

"I don't think this is the greatest time for you to suddenly get so prideful" Terry said, a vein bulging near his temple. Still, Terry complied and saddled him piggy-back style. Terry sprinted off and it took Amy every ounce of stamina she had to keep up.

The run to the medical cabin seemed to take hours even though it wasn't far. Amy nearly collapsed when Terry shuffled Peralta into the examining room. Terry, who hadn't broken a sweat, told a wheezing Amy that the nurse was checking him out now.

"She said it's not poisonous so he'll be fine. She just needs to clean it" he said and Amy allowed herself a sigh of relief.

"That's good. That's really good" she said, a smile escaping her lips.

"I'm going to go back to the kids, you want to come or..?"

"No, no. I'll stay with him" she said.

"Sure, sure. I'll look over your campers"

"Thanks" she said as she watched him leave. Amy sat down on one of the chairs in the hallway and let her head lean back against the wall. A crushing guilt consumed her. Yeah, He was going to be fine, but that could have easily been different. It could have been a rattlesnake or something and he pushed her out of harm's way. There was no denying that. He risked his own safety for her and _after all the shit she said to him right before_? Amy put her hands in her head in shame. She felt like the worst person in the world. She heard Jake take a sharp inhale of breath in pain and her chest tightened.

" _God, why am I such a bitch?_ " she thought. She sat in silence for a while when the Nurse came out looking over her paperwork on a clipboard.

"You can go ahead and see him. He's fine, don't worry so much. You'll get wrinkles" the nurse said, picking up on Amy's gloomy aura. She issued the nurse a small "thanks" and opened the curtains to a room where Peralta lay on a cot, white gauze wrapped around his ankle.

"Oh, hey!" he said, in good spirits. She grabbed a stool from the corner and sat next to him.

"Hey, how you feeling?" she asked.

"Aah, I'm fine. My ankle's just a little sore. The wound's been cleaned so it is allllll good. Pretty tight injury, huh? Hey, you should tell everyone to call me 'Snakebite' from now on"

"What? No"

"Man"

"Hey, um, thanks. For, y'know, taking that bite for me. That was pretty cool" Amy said, her cheeks glowing red. Jake beamed at her as if she had just told him he was the most amazing person she had ever met.

"Well, you know me, Jake Peralta: Gentleman to the end-" he said, but her cut himself short as he looked into her eyes. The eye contact lasted a little too long and Amy had to look away.

"Amy…" he said, his voice soft and low. It sent a shiver up her spine, the way he said her name like that.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, I'm really sorry about that stupid 'standards' thing-"

"No, you really don't have to explain I-"

"But I want to-"

"No, look I get it. Jake, I…you're not the first one to…look, I know I can be really overbearing sometimes. I'm pushy and I'm a know-it-all and I will compete with anything that looks at me the wrong way. I know that they're not really the most _attractive_ qualities, but-"

"Yeah, but that's what I like about you" he said, a kind smile blooming on his face. Amy stopped breathing and blood rushed to her cheeks. Did he mean he _liked_ her or… no, of course he meant as a friend. What was she thinking?

"Okay, I'm going to tell you something embarrassing, but you have to _promise_ not to laugh, okay? I basically saved your life today so you have to be cool when I tell you this" he said, a blush forming on his face.

"I promise" she said.

"So when we first got here I might have thought you were kinda cute there for a second, so when Hitchcock called me out on it I panicked and said that whole ' _standards_ ' line as a cover. It was super immature. I'm sorry"

He was really blushing now and Amy felt her face do the same. No one had ever said anything like that to her before.

"It's okay" she mumbled, her gaze glued to her knees.

"No, it wasn't" he said and she made herself look up. She felt herself stop breathing because he was looking at her with such sincerity she didn't know what to do.

"I forgive you" was all she could manage to say. He smirked.

"Thanks. Now, don't go thinking I'm hung up on you or anything. I just thought those nerd glasses were kinda sexy, but now that we're sworn enemies all that just went right out the window" he said. Amy laughed in spite of herself.

"Aw, Peralta we aren't enemies"

"Yeah?"

"Yeah"

"Okay, but hey, I liked it a lot more when you were calling me 'Jake'" he said and Amy smiled.

"Jake, got it"

"I reserve the right to still call you Santiago sometimes. Your last name is so cool" he said and she laughed again.

"Knock yourself out"

"Amy?"

"Yeah?"

"Just tryin' it out"

And that's how Jake and Amy became friends.

 **AN:** Alright, alright getting back into it. Only hours away from the season finale! Aaaah! I'm so excited.

I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. More fluff is on the way. ;)

Thank you so much for reading and I value all feedback 3


	4. Week 4: Fun-in-the-Sun Week - Jake

**Week 4: Fun-in-the-Sun Week – Jake**

"Amy, what's your number?" Jake asked one day at breakfast.

"Why do you need it?" she asked and Jake stared at her.

"So I can infiltrate your mind through electromagnetic waves-I want to _text_ you Santiago" he snapped. She was always so suspicious of him.

"Oh, right. Here give me your phone. I'll put it in" she said, taking his phone.

"'I'll put it in' – title of your sex tape" Jake whispered to her.

"What? Shut up," she said with a sneer as she handed him his phone back, "you're just upset my team is beating yours"

Jake sneered back at her. Jake's team had definitely taken a beating. The score was ten to eight. His team had lost four times in a row and it wasn't looking good. As Jake mused about ways to throw Amy's team off their game, Terry came around their table and handed out the daily schedule.

"Thanks, man" Jake said as he picked up the schedule. He smiled. _Swimming_ was on the agenda.

"Looks like we have the pool today" he said handing her the paper.

"Relay race?" She asked.

"Relay race" he confirmed and his smile widened. Hannah, one of his campers, was a swimmer and his team always shined during relays. There might have been another reason he was excites for pool day but that was...

Jake shook his head and shoveled pancakes into his mouth.

* * *

Jake's team reached the pool first. Jake took his shirt off and put sunscreen on. He paid special attention to his nose and made sure it was covered in white.

"Hey guys, make sure you put sunscreen on. You can borrow mine if you don't have yours" he told his campers. Gillian came over to take him up on the offer.

"Are the others coming?" she asked.

"Yeah, should be here soon. Not sure what's keeping them"

"Hey, Jake?" she asked.

"A-yup?"

"Do you have a thing for Amy?" she asked. Jake stared at her and immediately panicked.

"What? 'Like'? What even is that? No she's more of like a girl friend that I have. That came out wrong. I mean she's like a friend. She is a friend. She's a girl friend. _No_ , I mean she is a _girl_ that happens to be my _friend_ " he said, his smile nervous. Gillian gave him an incredulous look.

"Okay man, whatever" she said as she quickly put on the sun screen and threw it back at him. Jake congratulated himself on a crisis well-averted. It's not like it even _was_ a crisis. It was just, y'know, he didn't want the kids spreading rumors and then singing stupid "sitting-in-a-tree" rhymes.

As Jake continued to grapple with his internal struggle, Amy and her troupe approached the gated pool. This didn't really help Jake because she looked very… _nice_ in her bathing suit. It was a practical pink one-piece, but still, she looked _nice_ and Jake was the kind of person who noticed when people looked _nice_. Not in like, an _attractive_ way, y'know, just _nice_. Not a big deal.

"You ready to lose, loser?" She asked, hands on her hips and smug look on her face.

"Don't get too cocky Santiago. I have a proposition for you"

"What is it?"

"How about we set this race aside for a separate bet that doesn't count towards the big bet?" he asked and Amy raised her eyebrows in interest.

"What are the stakes?"

"If I win, you have to hike the trail to the treehouse with me tonight at midnight" he said. Jake wasn't sure where this was even coming from. He guessed he just wanted to do dumb teenager-y stuff. He'd been planning to do this anyway and it'd be more fun with company.

"What?! We can't do that! We have to be in our cabins, watching the kids"

"They'll be sleeping. You know as well as I do the pool will knock them out for the whole night and we won't be gone long"

"It's against the rules!"

"I know, that's the point. I haven't broken any in a while" He smirked at her. Amy looked over her shoulder, worried someone was listening.

"Okay, _fine_ , but what do I get?"

"What do you want?" he asked. She thought for a moment.

"I want _two_ wins" she said with a sly smile.

"Positively evil," he outstretched his hand and she shook it, "We have an accord!

"Your kids are gonna wish they'd never been born, Peralta"

"Okay, that was a bit much and also, the opposite will be true" Jake said as he removed his hand from Amy's, which was really soft by the way, but that's neither here nor there.

* * *

The race started with Amy's team in the lead and pretty much stayed that way until Hannah, the last racer on Jake's team, got tagged in. Hannah was like a freaking barracuda and passed Jorge (who had a considerable lead on her) for the win. Jake gloated mercilessly to Amy.

"WOO! Hey Amy, what was that you were saying before? Were you saying _my_ kids would wish they'd never been born? Is that what you said before?" he asked and Amy glared at him with as much malice as she could muster. Jake knew it must be killing her to have to break the rules.

* * *

Jake was standing by the trail at midnight, patiently waiting for Amy to arrive. She arrived on time, but brought her nerves with her.

"This is such a bad idea, Jake"

"Oh, calm down. We'll be fine"

"That sounds like something a guy in a horror movie would say right before he got stabbed to death" she said as she crossed her arms.

"Well, in any case, you won't get murdered"

"And why not?"

"You're a virgin. Virgins never get killed in horror movies" he shrugged.

"Ugh, you're such an _ass_ "

"Aw, come on. This is going to be fun! By the end of it, you'll be glad you lost that bet" He said, smiling.

"I doubt it" she said, crossing her arms tighter.

"Look, I even brought you a present!" Jake said as he revealed two lanterns with candles inside.

"Lanterns? Are you _trying_ to summon a 'slasher' villain?" she asked.

"Oh, come on. Admit this is cool"

"Alright, maybe it's a _little_ cool. Where did you get them?"

"They're on the cabin porches, but all the porches have lights now so they're only there for decoration and I got the candles in the supply shed. Found a light too!" He said, excited.

"Boy, you've really been planning this, huh?"

"Just for a couple of days. I wanted to see what I was missing out on the day I got bit!" He said as he lit a lantern and handed it to Amy. He lit his own and they began walking the trail.

"You're not worried about more snakes?" she asked.

"Nah, snakes have to hide at night right? Because it's cold?"

"I honestly have no idea. Maybe I should have studied snakes before I came" she said.

"Whatever, we'll be fine. Man, holding a lantern feels so cool" he said, pointing his lantern dramatically.

"It actually is"

"Right? I feel like Belle's dad when his horse abandoned him in that creepy forest"

"Hey, Jake?" Amy asked.

"What's up?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Doing what?"

"This? Like, why did you bet me for us to do this?" She asked. Jake didn't really know how to answer.

"I dunno…I thought it'd be fun"

"Yeah, but why not just ask another counselor? You and Boyle get along really well and you go to the same school as Gina right? Why not just ask them instead of betting me two wins?" she asked.

"Well, I thought it'd be fun to go with you and I knew you wouldn't break the rules if I just asked" he said and he was glad it was dark. He definitely felt a blush coming on. Why didn't he just ask Boyle or Gina? Boyle would have followed him into the dark if he asked him to.

"Oh" was all Amy could manage to say to that. They hiked in silence for a while until they could see the tree house.

"Oh, wow! Jeez this is like…Swiss Family Robinson status!" Jake said as he admired all the rope bridges and hammocks connected to the surrounding forest. There were actually three tree houses and they were all connected by wood and rope bridges. A rope ladder led to the biggest bridge and Jake handed his lantern to Amy so he could climb up.

"Here, hand me the lanterns" he told her and she obeyed. Amy started to climb the rope ladder, but her foot slipped through one of the squares. Jake caught her hand quickly enough and she was able to steady herself. With Jake firmly grasping one hand and her other on the bridge, she maneuvered her way up.

"Whew, thanks" she said and Jake held her hand for a beat too long before letting go.

"Uh, no problem, let's check out the tree houses!" he said, hurrying to the biggest shack that was straight ahead at the end of the bridge. The climbed and maneuvered their way through all of the houses, but decided to sit down in the smallest one. It was the highest point of the structure and it had a skylight.

Jake put down his lantern in the center of the tiny room and looked up at the moon shining through the skylight.

"Come on you have to admit this is pretty awesome" he said.

"Okay, you got me. This is awesome" she said, a warm smile lit up on her face with the soft glow from the lanterns illuminating her. They looked at each other in the mist of the candlelight and the moonlight. Jake felt something leap in his chest.

"You look like a wood sprite," he finally said.

"What?"

"I mean, uh, you know the, uh, different light sources and all. Like we both must look like wood sprites, you know, because of the light" he said, his panic-smile making an appearance.

"Oh, right. Yeah" She said. Jake sat down on the floor and pulled out a bag of peanuts. Amy sat down opposite of him.

"Peanuts?"

"Yeah, I get snackey. Want some?" he asked, offering the bag. She took a handful.

"Thanks," she said and both of them stared up at the sky in silence for a few minutes until Amy broke it, "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Go for it"

"Do you really research serial killers?"

"Oh, totally" he said smiling.

"I do too"

"Whhhhhhaaaaaat? You do? Why?" he asked.

"I want to be a detective one day"

"No, you don't" He said, confusing Amy.

"Uh, yes I do"

" _I_ want to be a detective" he said, a huge grin growing on his face.

"No way, really?"

"Yeah!"

"That's crazy" she said.

"Small world" he said and she smiled, which resulted in his heart jumping.

"So who do you think it is?"

"What?"

"Who do you think Jack the Ripper is?" she asked.

"Oooh. Well, I can't give too many details on an ongoing investigation, but…it's Cutbush, I'm almost positive it's Cutbush" he said and she nodded.

"It's either him or Tumblety" Amy agreed.

"Totally" Jake said, his heart gently hammering under his sweater. The feeling scared him and he thought it might be best to call it a night.

"Ready to head back?" he asked.

"Yeah, let's go"

* * *

During the walk back they talked excitedly about their Jack the Ripper theories and who they thought was the scariest serial killer of all time. It felt as if no time had passed at all when they reached the beginning of the trail. They blew out their lanterns and walked back to their neighboring cabins, talking in whispers.

"Okay, but Ted Bundy was _terrifying_. Everyone thought he was just some nice, normal guy. He got away with it for _so_ long because he was like, pleasant and handsome" Amy said.

"Yeah, I get it, but John Wayne Gacy was literally a _clown_ " Jake said, shivering.

"He also only went after guys, so yeah, that makes sense" she said as they arrived at the back door of her cabin.

"Well, we'll have to put this convo on pausies for now"

"Yeah, for sure" she said and Jake turned to leave.

"Hey, Jake?" she asked and he turned around.

"Yeah?"

"You were right. I am glad I lost" she said and smiled the sweetest smile he had ever seen before disappearing into her cabin.

Jake didn't know long he stood out there, staring at her door, but he know it was for a while. In truth, he was worried that if he went back to his cabin right away, his campers would have woken up by the sheer force of how hard his heart was beating inside his chest.

* * *

 **AN:** Aww yeah, here's chapter four! Killing it. I think I'm starting to get Jake's voice down a little better. I feel like I've written him way too serious in the past, but I'm getting the hang of it. Amy's a lot easier. I relate to her more, for sure.

And WHOA, how about that finale? My heart hurts and I've watched it three times already. I'm dead.

Is my inner serial killer nerd showing? I may or may not have co-written a play about Ted Bundy once. Oops.

Brownie points if you spot the Death Cab for Cutie reference.

As always, thank you so much for reading and I value your input! 3


	5. Week 5: Fairytale Week - Amy

**Week 5: Fairytale Week – Amy**

In the coming days, the rivalry between Amy and Jake had gotten significantly less heated. There was a lot less heckling and a lot more giggling at inside jokes. Amy would sometimes realize Jake was looking at her when she wasn't looking at him. She assumed he wanted to say something to her, so she'd look over at him and politely ask "yes?"

This startled him and he'd usually reply with something along the lines of "Oh, uh, nothing. I was just staring off into space"

It was an odd feeling, being around Jake. She felt like she had found a real friend in him. He was kind to her and would help her out when she needed it. He'd make fun of her, but was always careful not to take it too far. She liked being around him, but sometimes his looks would make her self-conscious. Was there something on her face? Was he really just looking into space? Or was he doing something else entirely. She tried to tell herself it didn't matter. The looks were inconsequential and it felt really nice to be able to talk to someone who had similar interests.

Jake would sometimes even make it seem like he wanted to hang out with her _after_ the summer was over. Apparently, there was a great Polish place near where he lived in Brooklyn and he thought Amy would like it. That was the kind of thing that filled Amy with glee. She never really got to make _plans_ with people, unless it was a group project or something. It made her happy.

Despite all the warm and fuzzy feelings that came along with friendship, Amy and Jake _did_ still care about their bet. It was pretty close now. Jake's team had gotten a second wind and was now ten to Amy's eleven. She doubted she was going to have much chance strengthen her lead this week though. Week five was "Fairytale Week" where every age bracket was assigned a fairytale and then make a play based off of it. Set, costumes, props, and material had to be all done by the end of the week so other activities were pushed to the side. Amy's kids were actually pretty excited for it, which was rare since her bunch were usually unenthusiastic about the daily line-up.

"Alright guys, looks like Terry gave us 'Beauty and the Beast' for our fairytale which is rad. Okay, first thing: the Beast. Mark, I'm thinking you should get on Tyrell's shoulders and then we just throw a fur coat on ya: BOOM insta-hella rad beast" Jake said one morning at the twelve-year-old table.

"How about we let them _choose_ , Jake?" Amy said, already exhausted by his endless energy.

"I'll do it! Sounds awesome!" Tyrell said.

"Yeah!" Mark agreed as they high-fived.

"Can you hold each other up for the whole play?" Amy asked.

"Ehh, we'll figure out the details later" Jake said, a hand brushing her question off.

"Ohkaay, well any takers for Belle?" Amy asked. The table went silent.

"No takers?" Jake asked.

"Guys, Belle is great. She's super smart, she's well-read, and she cares more about what's inside rather than what's on the outside. Why doesn't anybody want to play her?" Amy asked, looking around the table.

"I was hoping to be the wardrobe…" Maria said.

"Yeah, I like Mrs. Potts" Olivia agreed.

"I really wanted to do costumes" Lauren added.

"Oh, well you guys can do those things…" Amy said, looking around for a solution. A few seconds passed before Ben put up a tentative hand. This surprised Amy because Ben was by far the quietest and shyest of all their campers.

"What's up, buddy?" Jake asked.

"Can I be Belle?" Ben asked in the quietest voice. The group looked at him in silence for a few uneasy seconds.

"Yeah, sure! You'll be great buddy!" Jake said with the sweetest sincerity. Amy saw a small, jovial smile bloom on Ben's face and felt her heart fill up. She smiled her biggest smile at Jake and he smiled back, but quickly looked at the ground.

"Alright, great! Now, we got that's settled…Maria you want to be the wardrobe and Olivia you want to be Mrs. Potts…" Amy said, scribbling down the cast list.

* * *

Amy never knew producing a play was so difficult. You had to make sure everyone had costumes and their props, and lots of other bull crap. It was enough to stress her out if they actually had the a-typical five weeks, but _no_ , they only had one. Amy took care of the organization and stage manager duties, while Jake focused on directing and adapting the script with the kids.

"Okay, so Aaron, when Beast and Belle are having their big date scene, you just need to make sure you're like…pumped about it. You want them to fall in love so you can go back to being human, y'know?" Jake asked Aaron who was playing Cogsworth. Amy had noticed this lately. Aaron was the one kid who really seemed to hate this project. He was usually pretty aloof with everything, but his current behavior was odd.

"Whatever, fairytales are dumb. Only little kids believe in them" Aaron said with a scowl on his face.

"Well, let's try so that the little kids will like it, okay?" Amy said gently. Aaron shrugged, but his performance wasn't any more enthusiastic than it had been. Amy thought it might be a good idea to talk to him by himself when she got a chance.

* * *

The chance never came because Amy was knee-deep in painting flats and gluing sequins to old dresses. It wasn't until dress rehearsal that Amy even remembered the Aaron issue. They finally got a chance to rehearse in the dining hall, the venue for each play, and everything was almost done for the next day's performance.

"Hey guys, before we start the run, can we get Mark, Tyrell, and Ben on stage for the transformation scene? I want to work Mark's exit" Jake asked. It was actually a pretty cool trick. Lauren and Hannah raise a flowy blue fabric in front of the entire stage, while Mark jumps off Tyrell. Tyrell has his quick-change into his prince clothes and BOOM, He's a prince. Amy had choreographed how the whole transition would work and was very happy with the results.

She intently watched the scene as Ben "cried" over the beast's lifeless body as he chanted "I love you! Please, don't leave me". Lauren and Hannah's timing was spot on with the fabric and Tyrell changed faster than ever.

"Wow, that's looking great Amy. Terry _loves_ Beauty and the Beast"

Amy turned around and found Terry standing behind her.

"Oh! Thanks. Yeah, all the kids are working really hard"

"Great! How long is your show running?" he asked.

"Eh, like thirty minutes"

"That's a lot longer than the other campers, but I guess that's expected from the older kids" Terry said.

"Alright, little people! Double-check your props because we're gonna start a run in five!" Jake said.

"Thank you, five!" the kids echoed. Jake walked over to Terry and Amy.

"Hey, Ter-Bear, how's it going?" Jake asked. Terry glared at him.

"No" he said.

"Allllright" Jake responded.

"I'm really impressed with the work you two have been doing. The kids seem really engaged and the quality, from what I've seen, far exceeds expectations. Director Holt will be really pleased when I give him my report. I knew you two would be a great team"

"Thanks Terry!" Amy said, always excited for a word of praise.

"Jake! Amy!"

The group turned to look back at Lauren carrying her sewing kit and looking a little panicked.

"What's up, Lauren?" Jake asked.

"I can't find Aaron and he has a ripped seam on his costume. Do you know where he went?" she asked.

"You can't find him?" Amy asked and immediately started looking around backstage and calling his name.

"Hey, has anyone seen Aaron?" Jake hollered out, while Amy ran to the doors to see if he was outside. He wasn't anywhere.

"Jake, check the boys bathroom" Amy yelled at him, which he quickly did. He came back out and shook his head.

"You don't know where one of your campers are?" Terry asked and all the good feelings Amy had moments ago disappeared. She bit her lip and shook her head.

"He was just here" she said.

"Alright, both of you go searching and text me in 10 minutes if you don't find him. I'll watch them" Terry said, his tone slightly disappointed. Together, Jake and Amy shot out of the dining hall.

"How did we not see him _leave_ " Amy said, panic reaching her voice.

"It must have been during the transformation scene. He's not in it and all our attention was on that" Jake replied, an edge to his voice Amy hadn't heard before.

"I _knew_ something was up with him"

"Didn't you say you were gonna talk to him?" Jake asked.

"I _was_ , but this week has been so crazy, I didn't have time"

"You didn't talk to him?" He asked and Amy swore he was accusing her of something.

"Hey, you had just as much opportunity as I did!"

"But he's _your_ camper" he said. Amy stopped in her tracks.

"Jake, _stop it_. We need to find him, so stop trying to put the blame on me and let's think logically where he is" she said, desperate not to fight.

"He could be anywhere, this place is huge" he said.

"He wouldn't be just anywhere. Where does he like to go?" she reasoned, trying to breathe steadily.

"Nowhere, he always seems happiest when we're about to go to bed" Jake said, shrugging.

"Then let's go there!" Amy said, storming off to the boy's cabin. Jake followed her and when they reached the cabin he opened the door.

"Aaron?" Amy asked as she came in. They found him sitting in the corner, leaning his back on the frame of his bunk.

"Leave me alone. I don't want to be a part of the stupid play anymore" he said. Amy sat in front of him as Jake texted Terry that Aaron was found.

"Aaron you've been acting weird the past couple of days. Wanna tell me what's going on?" Amy asked gently.

"No! It's none of your business! Just shut up already" Aaron said.

"Hey man, that's no way to talk to someone" Jake said, sitting down next to him.

"Please, Aaron we just want to help" Amy added. Aaron's expression softened and he sighed.

"My mom texted me a few days ago and said she's divorcing my dad. I don't want to do a stupid play about 'true love' or whatever. It doesn't exist" he said, doing his best to obscure his face. Amy stared at him with pity in her eyes. Of course he'd hate being a part of this.

"Oh, Aaron, I'm so sorry" she said.

"Whatever" he said and shrugged.

"Y'know," Jake said, a seriousness coming over him that Amy had never seen, "my dad left my mom and me when I was seven. He didn't even tell us, he just left. I can't even remember the last time I saw him. I _do_ remember feeling abandoned and alone, but y'know what? I wasn't. My mom was there for me, my Nana was, and I had few great friends who helped me too. There were a lot of people who cared about me and I know there are a lot of people who care about you"

"You don't know that" Aaron said, miserable.

"Sure I do. Look at that ugly wrinkle on Amy's forehead. That ugly wrinkle only appears when she's worried about someone. See? There's one person and then there's me, that's two" Jake said and Amy let the wrinkle comment slide.

"Lauren was worried about you too!" she said.

"She was?" Aaron asked.

"Yeah! She was and I know it might not feel like it, but I'm sure your mom and dad care about you too" Amy continued.

"They don't care. My mom just sent me a text about it and my dad hasn't said anything to me at all"

"I know it might be hard to understand Aaron, but your parents are _probably_ both really sad right now. I know they _probably_ should have found a way to talk to you in person, but they _probably_ don't have the best judgement right now. They both will _probably_ really want your support and to know that you love them both" she said, hoping her advice made sense. Her parents were both still together, but she felt like she had to say something to him.

"Yeah, man. No matter what happens, you'll be okay, okay?" Jake asked.

"Okay" Aaron said, looking at the ground.

"Hey, what do you say we go kill this dress rehearsal, and then afterwards, you and I go sneak some ice cream from the freezer? Do some classic lashing out?" Jake asked, coming back to his usual, light-hearted self. Aaron, despite himself, gave Jake a small smile.

* * *

After that, dress rehearsal went on without a hitch, and Amy even noticed Aaron was trying harder to get into character. Terry was pleased that they had figured everything out so quickly and assured Amy that he would still tell Holt what a good job they were doing.

When the play went up every staff member and camper were there. Amy and Jake sat next to each other on a bench near the back. Amy was unbelievably nervous for a silly little play they made up in a week. Jake noticed, grabbed her hand and whispered in her ear.

"Hey, it's gonna be awesome" he assured her. She smiled and whispered back.

"I know" and they were right. All of the other campers were totally hypnotized and when Amy dared to take a peek back at Holt, she saw him nod. He might have even been moved. Amy chest swelled with pride. She watched Ben as Belle being the most expressive she had ever seen him and absolutely _loving_ what he was doing. She watched Aaron as he put on the meanest face he could as he shouted the hell out of Andy as Lumière. When the play was over and the cast did their curtain call to uproarious applause, Amy looked over at Jake. They smiled at each other.

" _Yeah_ ," Amy thought, " _maybe this summer isn't a bust after all_ "

* * *

 **AN:** Man, this was a hard chapter to figure out haha. Well, here it is. It's a little easy on the JakeAmy fluff, but I thought it would be nice to get to know the kids a little better. Next chapter will have some new developments, never fear.

Is my theatre nerd showing?

Thanks for reading! I love your feedback, but I ask that you don't make suggestions for plot points. You guys have great ideas, but I gots a plan! I promise. Love y'all! 3


	6. Week 6: Under the Sea Week - Jake

**Week 6: Under the Sea Week – Jake**

After the insanity that was "Fairytale Week", Jake and Amy got back to what was really important: using children as a means to compete with each other over a stupid bet. The week's theme was "Under the Sea" (lame), so there were a lot water sports involved and a lot questionable fish sticks during lunch.

Jake's team was down one, but he had confidence in this week's activities. Pool volleyball was first and he knew he had the advantage.

"Clock's ticking, Peralta. You better hope your team doesn't suck as much as they usually do" Amy said with a hand on her hip.

"Ahh, Santiago. It's nice to see that you're just as competitive and critical of children as you were two weeks ago. I suggest you don't get too gloat-y though because we're right on your tail" Jake replied and they both smugly smiled at the other.

* * *

At the end of the day, Jake's team did win pool volleyball. Over the next couple of days Amy's team won at pool basketball, while Jake's won another relay race. This had evened their score twelve to twelve.

"We'll have to end the games soon. If we wait too long, you won't be in a speedo for the entire week" Amy said one day during free time.

"Ha! Sure we'll end it soon, but it's not like I'm going to have to wear a speedo anyway. You're going down" Jake replied.

"You wish. I'd start man-scaping if I were you" She stood up so she could leave dramatically, but not before Jake got the last word in.

"Yeah, well I'd start practicing your make-out technique on a teddy bear if I were you" he said, earning him one of Amy's best "you're disgusting" glares.

* * *

Another reason this week had be christened "Under the Sea" was that it was the week that the whole camp went on a field trip to a nearby aquarium. Well, it wasn't really "nearby", but it was one of the closest destinations once you were off of the mountain.

On the day of the field trip, all of the campers and staff piled into two yellow buses. Jake, Amy, and their group sat all the way in back with Jake and Amy seated together. Jake wasn't looking forward to this ride. Buses were hot, sticky, and the trail back to civilization was snaky. He liked the idea of sitting and talking to Amy for a while, though.

He found himself trying to get her alone a lot. He wanted to spend time with her and whenever he did his stomach would do back-flips. He wasn't an idiot. He knew what all that meant, but he tried to shove it to the back of his mind. He didn't want to deal with that right now. He just wanted to enjoy his summer. He worried about the bet though. What if he won? A part of him felt he'd have to tackle these feelings head-on if it came to that.

For now, he put those thoughts aside and asked Amy if she had ever heard of H.H. Holmes.

* * *

The bus ride down was pretty much just as awful as Jake imagined. By the time they reached the aquarium Jake's head was pounding so badly he couldn't see straight. Amy handed him two Tylenols and offered her water bottle.

"This better actually be Tylenol, Santiago. I came out here to have a good time, not be taken advantage of" he said.

"Ha-ha. Just take it. The longer you wait, the longer it'll take to make you feel better" She said as she took her own dose.

"Cheers," he said, as he swallowed the pills, "Thanks"

"No problem, now let's get off this god forsaken bus"

* * *

When everyone was off the bus and inside the aquarium, Terry had an announcement for the staff.

"Hey everyone, the education staff are going to take the kids into the back classrooms for the next hour and a half for an educational program. During the program, you are free to explore the aquarium, but please be back by 1:30 to pick up your campers. Have a good time, we'll see you soon" He said, as the kids filed into the classrooms.

"Sweet! Free time. Want to go pet the sharks?" Jake asked Amy, a giant grin on his face.

"Yes. Absolutely" she said and they were on their way.

They stopped by the shark habitat first, which was also filled with sting rays and horseshoes crabs. Jake liked the sting rays the most because they would come up to the edge of the tank, wanting to be touched and were super slimy. He heard Amy laugh next to him as she placed two fingers on a bonnethead shark swimming by.

"Want to see the otters next?" she asked.

"Sure!" he said, and they washed their hands. They walked towards the back of the aquarium in towards the bigger exhibits.

"Hey, we never really talked about this, but you handled that situation with Aaron really well. I think you really helped him deal with it" She said, smiling kindly. Jake felt the familiar sensation of his heart beat booming louder than usual in his chest.

"Nah, it's nothing. I've just been there, y'know? You were great too. I kind of wish someone would have reminded me that my mom was going through a lot when my dad left, just like I was"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, y'know, I kind of _blamed_ her for my dad leaving. I dunno, I was just super bratty when it was all happening" he said and he felt self-conscious of what kind of face he was making because Amy's expression changed rapidly. Her eyes had widened and she tilted her head slightly.

"You were seven. I wouldn't expect you to have the same capacity for empathy as a twelve-year-old. Have you seen Rosa's kids? I saw one little boy literally pull a girl's pig tails. Then Rosa scared him so bad that I'm pretty sure he's never going to touch a girl again"

"Yeah, whoever decided to hire Rosa really knew what they were doing" Jake said, laughing as they came up to the otter exhibit.

"Aww they're cute" Amy said, looking at them.

"Yeah, they are" Jake said, looking at her.

An otter swam in front of them, got on her back and began cleaning herself. Amy was enraptured by the creatures and an odd pang hit Jake. It was an annoying feeling, but he wanted her attention. He wanted her to stop looking at these silly, water-dog things and to look at him. He liked it when she looked at him. It was such a selfish feeling and he felt guilty for even having it.

"Hey they have a tunnel over there, wanna go through?" she asked, looking at him once again. A wave of relief passed through him and he smiled involuntarily.

"Sure" he said and headed towards the large archway.

"You know, I've been meaning to say something else to you" Amy said, looking down.

"What is it?" he asked and his heart leapt in excitement.

"It's just…I'm sorry I didn't talk to Aaron sooner. I should have made it a priority-"

"What? No, _I'm_ the one who should be sorry. I shouldn't have blamed you for that. That was a real dick move. I'm sorry" he said, as they reached the mouth of the tunnel.

"It's fine, it's in the past" she said with a big sweeping gesture.

"Already forgotten" he said, a nervousness creeping into his veins. She kept smiling like _that_ and he kept feeling his blood tingle. He watched her tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. He thought of tucking it for her. He thought what her hair felt like, what it smelled like. He told himself to settle down.

"Jake, I know I give you a hard time a lot, but I'm really glad you ended up being my partner. I honestly thought this whole summer camp thing was going to be awful, but it sucks a lot less when I get to spend it with you" She said, smiling through those huge, ridiculous, endearing glasses. Why did she keep saying things like that? He felt his heart melt and seep through his rib cage. She might kill him at this point. What else could he do?

"Amy?"

"Hey! I know that look. Do _not_ make fun of me. I just said something really nice, let me have this Peralta"

"Amy, I like you"

"What?" she asked, confusion burning on her face.

"I like you. A lot" Jake said, an awkward smile happening before he could stop it.

"Oh, I… _oh_ , um…wow. Oh, Jake. I don't know what to say. Um, you are so cool Jake, I just-I don't know how to do this. I've never, y'know-I just I don't know how to do this-and I-I- _I can't_ " she said, trying her hardest to be as sensitive as she could, but not knowing the procedure. He knew that. He knew that, but his heart didn't shatter any less. His smile fell, but promptly reappeared.

"It's fine, totally fine, don't even worry about it" he said, doing his best not to upset her anymore.

"Jake, I'm so sorry. I-"

" _Seriously_. Don't worry about it. Hey, wanna go see the Lionfish? I hear they're super poisonous" he said and she looked surprise.

"Yeah, sure" she said, following him out of the tunnel.

"Sorry to just spring that on you" he said, doing his best to sound casual.

"It's okay…" she said, her voice smaller than it was five minutes ago.

"Okay"

"Jake?"

"Yeah?"

"Can we still be friends?" she asked and Jake's heart broke all over again. It didn't break because she reinforced her disinterest in a romantic affiliation with him. It cracked and shattered because it made him remember that Amy had no friends other than him. He was reminded that he _was_ important to her, because he was a friend. Something precious. He felt horribly guilty and selfish for shaking that foundation.

"Of course! You can't get rid of me that easy. I still gotta take you to Sal's Pizza and the Polish place. Then, I need to kick your butt at laser tag" he said, and he saw flickers of that illuminating Santiago smile.

"I'm totally going to kick _your_ butt at laser tag"

" _You wish_ "

* * *

 **AN:** Chapter six is out! Boom! We got a little angsty there, but never fear friends, this story has a happy ending.

I used to work at an aquarium so that was kind of the inspiration for the field trip.

Thank you so much for reading! I'm always very humbled by your reviews and favorites, so thank you! Chapter seven will have more fun developments. 3


	7. Week 7: Goodbye Week - Amy

**Week 7: Goodbye Week - Amy**

After the events at the aquarium, Amy found it very hard to get to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes she saw Jake's face. She saw the sweet, hopeful look in his eyes when he confessed, and she saw the light leave them as she stuttered out her refusal. She slapped her palms to her eyes in an effort to kill the vision. She hurt him. He wouldn't admit it, but she did. Eyes don't just flicker out and faces don't just fall like that. He _liked_ her. He even went so far as to specify that he liked her _a lot_. Amy's face scrunched up in the darkness.

Why did he like her? Wasn't she a total nerd and that completely lacked any sort of sexual appeal? Then again, his confession wasn't a _complete_ surprise. The signs were there and she knew it, but still, it seemed surreal. Everything was always such a joke to him and yet, there he was, confessing his feelings.

Her own feelings kept her awake at night as well. Did she like Jake? Did she _not_ like Jake? She wasn't sure one way or the other. She had feelings for him, certainly, but what kind of feelings? They were friends and she was fond of him. She initially thought he was cute and she guessed that was still true. He made her laugh and they had a lot in common. Did that constitute _romantic_ feeling though? She went back-and-forth endlessly.

Eventually, her thoughts wandered to Jake winning the bet. She saw him gloating at her, then suddenly getting serious, taking her hands, and leading her into him. She saw him crash his lips against hers and his hands on her face.

She slammed her pillow against her burning cheeks, hoping to smother the fire it ignited in her. Well what did _that_ mean? She wouldn't get all flustered if she _didn't_ like him, right? Or was it because the idea of kissing anyone scared her into a blushing spiral of uselessness? Mercifully, this line of thinking had exhausted her and she fell asleep.

* * *

The day came for Jake and Amy's final battle for glory. They had worked out an elaborate set of games in order to go out with bang. They set up six separate games that put each camper head-to-head with one other camper. Each win gave the corresponding team one point and they set up a tie-breaker in case it was three-to-three. Both of them had separate meetings with their groups. Amy was absolutely desperate to win.

"Okay, guys. Listen up. I need _all_ of you to summon the wrath of god during this showdown. We need to show them that we're the superior twelve-year-olds. This is for guts. This is for glory. The outcome of this showdown will determine how you live the rest of your lives. Are you guys going to be losers? Or are you going to be winners?" she said, blood pumping in her ear.

"Eh, whatever" Lauren said, bored. Amy glared.

"If you guys don't win, I'm going to make sure we run laps all day for the rest of the week"

"You wouldn't" Aaron said, fear in his voice.

"Oh, I would" Amy said, still glaring. Her campers looked at each other in panic. She smirked to herself and was sure she had gotten through to them.

* * *

The two teams met at the running track and prepped for the first competition. This one was simple enough. Jorge (playing for Amy) and Andy (playing for Jake) would run one whole lap. The one who reached the end first was awarded the point.

"Ready for the worst day of your life, Santiago?" Jake asked with a cocky grin.

"I don't know why you're acting so high-and-mighty, _Peralta_. You know as well as I do that Jorge is going to leave Andy in the dust.

"Andy's got some new tricks up his sleeve. Don't count him out yet" Jake said with a wiggle of his eyebrow.

Apparently Andy's "new trick" was to pretend he was being chased by a serial killer. Though a great idea in theory, Andy got a little too caught up in the fantasy and completely wiped out half-way through. Jorge crossed the finish line and won Amy her first point.

"Ooh, Peralta, not off to a good start" She said and she saw Jake grimace.

* * *

The next competition was Tyrell (Team Amy) versus Olivia (Team Jake) at a game of Risk. Amy had no idea how to play this game, but Tyrell assured her he knew what he was doing. She took that as a good sign.

Amy and Jake immediately regretted the choice to have Risk as a competition because it took twenty minutes just to set-up. For what felt like hours, Tyrell and Olivia sat in silence, moved their pieces, and nodded.

At long last, Olivia let out an exasperated sigh and announced she had lost.

"YES!" Amy shouted with a jump and a punch to the air, "You getting' scared Jakey?"

"It's not over yet! We're just gettin' started"

"Oh, are you?"

"Yeah!"

"You guys are weird" Lauren said with her signature stink face.

* * *

The next competition required help from Jake's friend Gina. She had selected seven pieces of Beyoncé trivia. Whoever answered the most questions correctly got the point for their team. Maria was playing for Amy and Gillian played for Jake.

"Alright, fellow disciples of Queen Bee, are you ready for your first question?" Gina asked.

"Yes!" Maria and Gillian said in unison.

"Bey-once-iful. Okay, we'll start off easy. Who is Bey married to?" Gina asked and both girls immediately threw up their hands.

"Hmm, Gillian you were a little faster, what is the answer?"

"Jay-Z!" she shouted and Maria crossed her arms.

"Correct little dove. Okay, question two: What girl-group sensation was Beyoncé apart of _before_ she went solo?" Gina asked. Maria raised her hand.

"Maria" Gina pointed.

"Destiny's child!" she exclaimed.

"Very good, point Maria"

"Who's Destiny's Child?" Andy asked. This made Gina, Maria, Amy, and Jake all gasp.

" _Who_ are you, Andy?" Jake asked.

"Children disgust me, 'cept you Maria. You're adequate" Gina said.

In any case, it was Gillian's victory four to three. Amy could feel the physical presence of Jake's ego.

"Not out of the game yet, Santiago" he said and she scowled at him. She was a terrible loser.

* * *

Next, was a rapid game of PIG between Aaron (Team Amy) and Hannah (Team Jake). Aaron was absolutely terrible at shooting and made the word PIG within minutes. Amy sneered as she lost her lead, while Jake did a victory dance.

* * *

The fifth competition was a tennis match between Cathleen, fighting for Amy, and Mark, fighting for Jake. This battle was much closer than the others. Mark was a worthy candidate, but in the end, he couldn't compete with Cathleen's batting arm. On Cathleen's winning point, Amy started her own victory dance.

"Shaking in your boots yet, Jake? I only need to win this last competition and you'll be dressing down for the entire week" she said, her pompous smile growing bigger.

"You're counting your chickens before they egg" Jake said.

"Not even close to what the expression is"

"That's exactly what it is, but it doesn't matter because we're gonna ruin you in the next one"

* * *

The last game required assistance from Gina once again. Playing for Amy was Lauren and Ben played for Jake. The final competition required Lauren and Ben to send Gina a text written down on the paper in front of them. The text included capitalization, punctuation, and emojis. Whoever sent the text accurately to Gina first would win. Ben and Lauren both sat on a bench opposite of Gina with a single sheet of paper in front of both of them.

"On your mark, get set, TATUM" Gina said and the competitors flipped over their papers, typing away furiously on their phones. Everyone sat in excited silence, daring not to breathe.

A ping was heard from Gina's phone and was quickly succeeded by another. Both groups gasped and Gina picked up her phone.

"Lauren sent in the text first" Gina said calmly as she skimmed the text for errors. Amy's heart thumped loudly in her chest. This was it. If Lauren just sent it in without any errors, then she'd win. Amy crossed her fingers.

"Hmm, no, sorry boo. The paper clearly says heart-eyes emoji, not cat-ears-heart-eyes emoji. The text is disqualified. Ben, if you put yours in correctly, you will win the battle my friend" Gina said and Amy felt her heart drop. She was so close. There was still hope though. If Ben got something wrong they'd have to do another round.

Silence fell upon the group once again as Gina proof-read the text. After what felt like an eternity, Gina smiled and nodded.

"Ben's text is perfect. Jake's team gets the point!" she said and Jake's team exploded. Ben's teammates all gathered around him and slapped him on the back. Amy's team, on the other hand, all slumped in their spots. Amy couldn't believe it. She was certainly nervous now. Jake might actually win this thing and that meant…

She shook her hand to get rid of the thought and the shivers it gave her.

"It seems we have a tie everyone," Gina announced, "looks like we're going into sudden death, which means it's obstacle course time! Everyone meet at Amy's cabin for your assignments!"

* * *

The whole group migrated back to the girl's cabin, buzzing with excitement. Gina stepped up on the cabin porch and addressed her audience.

"Okay, little people. This is how it's gonna go: Your counselors have picked the order in which you will run and where you'll be going. A few ground rules: one, you may not ever touch your competitor. This includes kicking, tripping, grabbing, or groping. Two, you may not interfere with the race in any way if it is not your turn. No throwing things or doing weird crap to your opponents. That's basically it. Jake, would you like to explain the course? "

"Sure would, Gina. Okay, the first set will be from the steps of the girl's cabin to the tire swing. You cannot tag in the next person until you've successfully given yourself one good swing on the tire. That means butt on tire, back-and-forth. From the tire swing you'll head over to the tennis court and make one serve over the net, then tag your teammate. The next person will run to the dining hall, where Charles will have a PB&J sandwich waiting for you. You must eat the entire sandwich before you tag your partner. From the dining hall you will run to Director Holt's cabin and do ten push-ups before tagging your teammate. You'll go from Director Holt's cabin to the beginning of the hiking trails. As soon as you get there you will tag your last teammate immediately. The last runner will have to hike all the way up to the biggest tree house where Amy and I will be waiting for you to tag us. Whoever tags their counselor first will be the victor" Jake said, as if he was describing the plan for a heist.

"Little side note: Jake, Amy you can't move even one foot when you see your last kiddo. Any attempt to reach for the tag will result in immediate disqualification" Gina said, and they both nodded.

"Okay, so here's the order for my team. Lauren, you'll run the first leg, Aaron is second, Maria your third, Tyrell will be fourth, Cathleen you'll be the fifth, and Jorge you'll take the last leg" Amy said, giving them all encouraging looks as she named them.

"My Team! First is Ben, then Olivia, Gillian, Andy, Mark, and then Hannah for the win" Jake said, punctuating each name by pointing at its owner.

"Get in your positions campers, it's about to go down" Gina said, and they all scattered. Amy and Jake headed to their spots together.

"You nervous?" Jake asked.

"Not as nervous as _you_ " Amy said, giving away just how nervous she was. Jake laughed.

"Fine, I'll admit it. I'm nervous"

"Ha! Knew it. Not too keen to wear a speed-o now, are you?" she teased.

"More nervous about winning actually" Jake mumbled so quietly that Amy almost didn't catch it. Almost. They stopped teasing each other after that.

* * *

They reached the tree house and Jake took out his phone to text Gina that they'd arrived. Jake read out her text's to Amy.

"She says they're about to start and that she has a pretty good vantage point from the cabin so she'll give us as many updates as she can" Jake said.

"Oh, great. I was worried we weren't going to know anything"

"Yeah. She says they just started!" Jake said and Amy gasped. They waited in silence, their attention completely on Jake's phone. After a few moments, Jake's phone pinged.

"Ben and Lauren are done, Ben got to the swing first so Olivia has a lead on Aaron" Jake said and Amy cursed in her head.

"This is crazy nerve-wracking! I hate not doing anything" she said.

"I know it sucks," Jake agreed and his phone pinged again, "She says Maria and Gillian are running now and she thinks Maria's ahead"

"Go Maria!" Amy said as her heart beat accelerated. Some moments went by until Jake received the next message.

"Oh, oh my god, so Gillian totally devoured the sandwich and now Andy has a huge lead on Tyrell" Jake said, clenching his fist.

"What? No!"

"Better start praying Santiago" Jake said and Amy felt her insides flip. Second, minutes, or hours passed by and finally, Jake got the next text.

"Andy tagged Mark and he still has a considerable lead, but Cathleen is closing the distance a bit" Jake said and Amy noticed he was looking pale. He was getting nervous and she knew she had her best runner left. She might actually win this thing. Jake received another message.

"Gina says that Mark tagged Hannah first, but Cathleen wasn't far behind. She says she can't see anyone now and that they're coming" Jake said, putting his phone in his pocket.

"Oh, _crap_ " Amy said as she got in position to tag Jorge's hand and Jake copied her.

"This is it, Amy. They'll be here in a couple of minutes" he said, a shakiness in his voice.

"Yeah, moment of truth" she agreed.

"Well, let the best counselor win" he said as he outstretched his hand for her to shake. She smiled and shook his hand.

"I will" she said with a smug shrug.

" _Wow_ " he said and she laughed.

"Well, thank you anyway" she said as she looked straight ahead at the bridge in front of them. She strained to see the path past the bridge to maybe get a glimpse of anyone coming. It took a while, but she spotted Hannah coming up the path and towards the bridge. Her stomach dropped, but hope filled her as she saw Jorge not far behind. He was steadily catching up to her and by the time they hit the rope ladder that led to the bridge they were neck-and-neck.

They climbed the rope ladder and Jorge got a step ahead, but the unthinkable happened. As Jorge was pushing himself up onto the bridge his foot got caught on the rope and he fell forward on the wooden planks. Jake and Amy both gasped, worried for his well-being, but neither willing to move. Hannah got herself steadily on the bridge and ran. Jorge got himself up as quickly as he could, but Hannah had too much of a lead on him. Amy watched, almost as if in slow motion, as Jake outstretched his hand and Hannah slapped it, Jorge right on her heels.

Jake had won the bet.

* * *

Jake was absolutely insufferable after that. Once they had all congregated back to the cabins, he got his campers to start chanting "Amy Sucks, Amy Sucks". They all high-fived and congratulated each other, while Amy's group looked up at her with guilty, puppy-dog eyes.

"So do we still have to run laps for the rest of the week?" Maria asked shyly.

"Oh, no! No way, you guys were great. I know you gave it your all. I'm super proud of you" she said and they all smiled at her. Amy sighed and was grateful she had some pretty great campers.

"Hey! Let's go get dinner, losers!" Jake shouted at Amy's group. Amy rolled her eyes and headed to the dining hall.

* * *

Once there, Amy sat herself across from Jake who had a grin on his face that would not go away. Amy looked over at him and felt a hurricane in her torso. He won the bet. He was going to kiss her. She tried to let go of the significance of a first kiss. This was just a transaction. Collateral for a bet lost. It didn't have to mean anything. And what was a kiss when all was said and done, anyway? It was just skin up against somebody else's skin. She had about as every reason to be nervous about this as she did for shaking hands. It was such a sensible argument and yet, she still got goosebumps thinking about the " _transaction_ ". She took a deep breath and looked at Jake.

"So, when would you like to uh, pick up your, uh, winnings?" she asked, trying to sound mature and business-like.

"My what?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You know," she said in an aggressive whisper, "your _winnings_ "

"Ooh, my _winnings_. We'll wait until the night the kids leave. Meet at midnight by the hiking trails again"

"The kids don't leave for another five days! Can't we just get it over with?" she pleaded.

"Nope. I want to savor my win" he said as he took a big bite out of his burger. Amy mentally groaned. She knew she was going to get herself in a tizzy if she had to think about this for five days. This was going to be a nightmare.

* * *

Amy was wrong about it being a nightmare. After day two, she realized it was _Hell_. She couldn't stop thinking about it. She kept imagining different ways he'd do it. Maybe he'd keep it simple and just place his lips on hers for a couple of moments or maybe he'd be as gross as possible and just lick her all over her face. Maybe he would French kiss her and cop a feel. She admitted to herself that Jake probably wasn't that big of a jerk, but she couldn't help thinking of worst-case scenarios.

It really worried her that Jake wasn't gloating nearly as much as she thought he would. He barely mentioned it, actually. She worried he had some horrible, devious plan for her. She tried to reason with herself that Jake was still her _friend_ and he wouldn't do anything to purposefully hurt her.

Jake's plan for the kiss was really only half of her concerns. There was a naïve, childish part of her that was worried about her own _performance_. She'd never done it before and she didn't want it to be bad. This thought led to a whole other line of thinking: why did she care if she was good or bad to Jake? Did that mean she wanted the kiss to go well? Or did she just not want to embarrass herself? Needless to say, these days were torture.

* * *

It finally reached the day of the campers' departure. It was actually way sadder than she thought it would be. At lunch, Holt and Terry both gave little good bye speeches. Terry was choking up a little and Holt was his usual, apathetic self. Still, they were both very nice and they made her realize she'd actually really miss her misfits.

After lunch, Amy helped all the girls pack and clear out the cabin. This task weighed heavy on her heart. Six weeks went by so quickly and now they were really leaving. Once all of the girls had their bags packed, they walked over to the bus stop where the boys waited for them. The bus still hadn't arrived so the fourteen of them sat in a circle and exchanged some of their favorite memories. Maria talked about how much she liked looking at Sea Jellies at the Aquarium, Ben shyly talked about how fun it was to be Belle, and Hannah talked enthusiastically about her epic win in the obstacle course. This got big cheers from the Jake group and few "boo"s from Amy's.

"Yeah, my favorite moment was _definitely_ winning that obstacle course" Jake said jovially and Amy shook her head.

"Amy's turn!" Olivia said.

"My favorite part? Well, I think I'm just really glad to have met you all and to have made so many friends" Amy said, sincerely. She was greeted by a chorus of "aww"s and felt her heart lift. She was going to miss them.

Not long after that, the bus rolled in and they all stood up. Amy hugged and high-fived her campers as they told her goodbye. She watched as they all filed onto the bus and struggled with their bags. Then, in just a few minutes, the bus was full and was starting to pull out. Jake and Amy waved until the bus hit the street and drove out of sight. Amy let out a cheerless sigh.

"Kinda sad, huh?" Jake asked looking at her.

"Yeah" she said, still looking at the spot where the bus disappeared. Jake wrapped an arm around Amy and rubbed her arm in an effort to comfort her.

"Hey, you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine" she said, and being here with him like this, she believed it.

"Jeez, what now?" He asked, releasing her. She laughed.

"I don't know. We have the rest of the day off, but I have no idea what to do now"

"Challenge you to a game of tennis!" Jake said, tagging her and running towards the courts.

" _You're on!_ " she said and ran after him.

* * *

They kept themselves busy and Amy was grateful for that. In fact, it wasn't until lights out, when Jake and she were saying goodnight, that she was reminded of their plans.

"So I'll meet you by the tree at midnight, yeah?" he asked, and she felt herself go pale.

"Oh, yup. Yeah. I'll be there" she replied.

"Cool, I'll grab the lanterns and a blanket" he said and headed to his cabin.

" _Blanket?! Why do we need a blanket? Is he planning, like, a make-out session?_ " Amy thought. She went inside her cabin and started pacing. She really wasn't prepared for this, but a bet was a bet.

* * *

Amy didn't know how she endured those last two hours, but she did. She wandered over to the trail in the dark. Every step she took she felt her heart beat race a little faster and when she spotted Jake in the distance it was beating at dangerous speeds. This was really happening. When she reached Jake he smiled.

"Hey, glad you could make it" he said, an odd sincerity in his voice. She expected him to be bragging about his win the entire night, but she couldn't detect any trace of that.

"I had to, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. Aw, well whatever, don't worry about that. I've _got a surprise for you_ " he said, singing the last part.

"Oh, no. What?" she asked.

"You'll see" he said as he lit a lantern and handed it to her. He lit his own and held it in his right hand and tucked the blanket under his left arm. They began walking the trail and Amy felt a lump begin in her throat. She looked at Jake who was a few steps in front of her. She looked at the back of his head and paid attention to his hairline and how it met his hoodie. She noted the slight curl it had that would certainly have been a wild mess if he ever grew it out. Her face began to burn with a blush.

She took a deep breath and looked at his back. She didn't know why but, a lot of her fear seemed to vanish as she looked at him. This was Jake. Whatever he had planned, she knew he wouldn't do anything un-gentlemanlike. She trusted him. She took another deep breath in.

" _Everything will be fine Amy_ " she thought.

"So what was _really_ your favorite moment?" he asked, looking behind at her.

"Huh?" she asked.

"Earlier today you said it was meeting everyone, but I think you're lying" he said, smirking.

"Well, I mean, I wasn't _lying_. I just had something else in mind too" she said, her blush burning anew.

"What? What was it?" he asked, eagerly.

"I really liked seeing the tree house for the first time" she said and she almost thought she saw him blush.

"Oh, well, yeah I…that was kind of my real answer too" he said, looking anywhere but at her.

"Oh," she said, "yeah, that night was really fun"

"Yeah, totally"

* * *

They continued to hike and talk about some of their other fond memories of camp for a while longer. Amy felt herself relax the more they talked normally, but got suddenly nervous when they arrived at the tree houses.

"We're gonna keep going straight actually" he said as she was heading towards the rope ladder.

"We're not going to the tree houses?" she asked, following him.

"Nope. I found another trail over here that leads to some place cool" he said as he started on a much smaller and much less traveled trail between two big pines. This trail was at a much steeper incline and Amy felt her calves burn. They marched on for a couple more minutes until the land flattened out as they reached the top the hill.

"Wow!" Amy exclaimed as she took in the spectacular view, they were higher up than she had realized and they were able to see the side of a smaller neighboring mountain. The mountain was covered in trees, but what was even more breathtaking was the sky beyond the mountain. The clear dark navy atmosphere was absolutely covered in stars and not a cloud was in sight. Amy had never seen so many stars. She was stunned and overwhelmed. She didn't know how, but she felt both very big and very small at the same time.

"Crazy, right? We're so far up that there's basically no light pollution to cover-up the stars and it's a new moon." he said and blew out the lanterns.

"Oh, is that why you wanted to wait until tonight?" she asked.

"Yeah! Perfect opportunity for star-gazing" he said as he laid out the blanket.

"That's what the blanket was for?" she asked.

"Yup. Why? What'd you think it was for?" he asked with a teasing smirk.

"Nothing. I had no idea" She said and sat on the blanket, crossing her arms for warmth. Jake laid down on the blanket and put both hands underneath the back of his head. He took a deep breath in and exhaled. They watched the stars in silence for some time before Amy felt confused. Weren't they here for his _winnings_? She really didn't want to put it off any longer.

"So…are we doing this, or what?" she asked, blood rushing to her cheeks. At this Jake sat up.

"Doing what?" he asked.

"Y'know, ' _winnings_ '?"

"Oh, _that_. You want to now?" he asked.

"Yeah. You won, fair and square, so let's get this over with" she said, courage filling her.

"Okay. You have to close your eyes first"

"Okay" she said and obeyed. She relaxed her lips and waited for him. With her eyes closed she felt her other senses heighten. She could hear her heart pounding and she could hear Jake breathing. She felt the cold night air on her face and she felt the warm presence next to her. It seemed like hours had gone by before she sensed the warm body getting closer to her, closer to her lips. Eventually, she felt warm lips grace her cheek, gentle and sweet. Her heart fluttered and she thought how kind it was of him to ease her into this. When he pulled away, she was certain he was going to come back for her lips, but she felt his warmth inch away from her.

She opened her eyes and found Jake where had last found him: sitting away from her, looking up at the stars. Was that it?

"Um, Jake?"

"Yeah?" he asked, still looking up.

"Are you, uh, _done?_ " she asked and he looked at her.

"Yup. Your debt is paid" he said with a smile.

"Oh, you didn't want, like, a _real_ kiss?" she asked, still confused.

"Nah, it's your first one, right? I wouldn't want to take that from you" he said in his typical light-hearted tone.

"But you won"

"Yeah, yeah, but I don't particularly want to kiss a girl who doesn't want to kiss me back. Don't worry about it, Amy. I have had more than enough satisfaction watching you freak out about the kiss than I ever would have had actually kissing you. You're hilarious when you worry" he said, his smile turning mischievous.

"Oh, okay" she said, but she still felt very…unsettled? This turn of events was frustrating, like she was cheating or something. There was something else though, something else that bothered her about the entire situation and made her antsy. She tried to figure it out, combing her brain for the right word. It was like it was all very anti-climactic, kinda disappointing. Disappointing? _Disappointing_. Was she disappointed? She had been thinking so much about this moment and how it would go, but it was just a kiss on the cheek?

Amy realized that a part of her had been looking forward to this, _really_ looking forward to it, if she was honest with herself. She looked at Jake as he looked at the stars and felt courage fill her bones once more. She shifted close to him, her folded knees just grazing the outside of his thigh.

The movement alerted Jake and he looked at her, not expecting their faces to be so close. Still, he didn't move back, he just looked into her eyes. Amy felt her chest swell like a balloon and something slowly drawing her closer to him. She saw his eyes move down to her lips and she looked at his as well. Then, before she realized just how close they were, Jake's lips were on hers and the balloon in her chest popped, releasing the millions of butterflies it held captive. His lips were warm and they kissed hers with tenderness. She realized she was holding her breath and exhaled, which somehow deepened the kiss. She tilted her head and moved her lips with his, slowly and tentatively. She felt the soft warmth of his lips leave, but she still felt hot underneath her skin.

She opened her eyes and saw Jake look at her in quiet awe, too stunned to say anything. She could tell he wanted to say something though, but she was much more interested in trying that again.

"Amy, was that..?" he asked, leaving the question in the air.

"Yes" she said.

"Because you really don't _owe_ me anything, I mean it-"

But she stopped him with her lips. She had grown braver this time around. She put a hand on his cheek and another on his chest, pulling him closer. He reciprocated with just as much passion and wrapped his arm around her back. She felt every anxious feeling and heavy-weighted tension leave her body as they sunk deeper into each other. Her head was dizzy with his being: the way he smelled, the way he felt, the way he _tasted_. She wanted it all and didn't care if it was selfish of her or not.

And there, underneath the new moon sky, Amy realized that yes, she _liked_ Jake Peralta.

* * *

 **AN:** HOLY CRAP! This chapter is a freaking monster. I hope you enjoy because this took for-freaking-ever.

So during their night hike I had a few songs I listened to a lot:

 **Come Away With Me** /Norah Jones

 **Your Hand in Mine** /Explosions in the Sky

 **Skinny Love** /Bon Iver

I think I have a thing about stars…it's actually one of the few things I miss about living in the country. New moon skies are the prettiest!

I got one chapter left for you! Thanks so much for reading and I love reading your comments! 3


	8. Week 8: Tear-down - Jake

**Week 8: Tear-down – Jake**

Jake felt Amy's warm hand leave his cheek as she pulled back from him. He indulged himself by staring into her dark eyes, while his own eyes asked questions his voice dared not. Was this real? Did she feel the same way he did? All of the clues pointed to yes, but he found it hard to believe. He looked at her, taking in the rest of her face. It was too much and all of his nerves were released in a laugh he couldn't control.

"What? What's funny?" she asked, worried. He looked up at her and giggled again.

"Your glasses are on crooked" he said and he was right. Her glasses were comically skewed with one lens up high on her face and the other low. He reached out and adjusted them for her.

"Oh," she said, a smile on her lips, "Thanks"

"No problem" he said and his eyes locked on hers. Jake reached for her glasses again, ripping them off and tossing them to the side. They were in the way. He quickly kissed her again and she met him eagerly. Jake didn't know how much time had passed as they held each other, hands fumbling, and lips searching, but he didn't care. There was no world beyond the one the two of them had made for themselves here, underneath billions of stars. Finally, it was Amy who brought them back.

"We should probably head back" she said, her hair messy.

"Should we?" he asked and stole a quick kiss. She giggled.

" _Yes_. We're going to be exhausted for tear-down tomorrow" she reasoned.

"Sensible Santiago" Jake said, smiling. He stood up, offered Amy his hand to help her up and handed her back her glasses. They folded the blanket, relit the lanterns, and headed back towards the tree houses. They walked in silence, but it was a very easy, comfortable silence. As they walked, Jake would sneak glances at her and she had a consistent little smile on her lips. Every time he saw it, his stomach did backflips. He could hardly believe that their excursion had just happened. He was a little worried he was dreaming, but the burning in his lips convinced him otherwise.

When they reached the tree houses Jake had an itch to hold her hand, but he stopped himself. Hand-holding felt so _official_ , like it labeled them-

" _Stop thinking so much!_ " he thought and he laced his fingers with hers. She immediately looked at him with an embarrassed smile, but then studied the ground, her hand still holding his. They continued on, hand-and-hand, until they reached Amy's cabin.

"Goodnight" she said, facing him.

"Goodnight" he said. They lingered in their spots and Jake realized neither of them wanted the night to end. Amy stood on her tip-toes and kissed Jake one last time before going to her door. She gave him a little wave and disappeared inside.

Jake almost let out a victory yell, but somehow managed to control himself. He walked back to his cabin, a giant grin never leaving his face.

* * *

Over next couple of days, Jake and Amy found it hard to talk alone with one another. Tear-down was even more demanding than set-up and all the counselors spent their meals together. The only time they could be alone together was when they went on late night excursions to the tree houses or on the hill top. On the night before their last day at camp, Jake and Amy sat in the tree house with the skylight and he finally asked her the question he'd been dreading.

"Hey, Amy?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"Hey, I was wondering, did you want to maybe get dinner with me sometime? Like on a date?" he asked.

"Oh, uh, yeah!" she said, her face getting red.

"Awesome" he said, dread lifting off his shoulders.

"So does that mean we're dating?" she asked.

"Well, yeah. We're going on a date"

"Yeah, I mean are we, I dunno, exclusive?"

"Do you want to be?" he asked.

"I-yes, I dunno, _yes_ , but I'm going to college in a couple of weeks. That might make things hard, right?" she asked and Jake felt the dread fall back on him like a heavy weight.

"Oh. Yeah. I am too. I hadn't thought about that. Are you going far?" he asked.

"No, no. I'm going to St. John's, so it's still in New York" she said and Jake snapped his head to look at her with wide eyes.

"You're going to _St. John's_?" he asked. Amy was visibly taken back by his tone.

"Uh, yeah. Why? What's up?"

"That's where I'm going" he said, excited. Amy just looked at him with a knowing smile.

"No you're not" she said as if she caught him in a lie.

"No, really"

"C'mon Jake. You had the grades for St. John's?" she asked. Jake put on his smug smile.

"Santiago, if you knew my GPA and SAT score, you'd cry and not because they were abysmal" he said and took delight in Amy's shocked confusion.

"Wait, so we're going to the same school?" she asked.

"Looks like it"

"Are you going for criminal justice?"

"A-yup" he confirmed. Amy looked away from him, deep in thought, then looked up and flashed him a dazzling smile. To his surprise, she flung her arms around his neck and kissed him full on the mouth. He closed his eyes and wrapped his arms around her waist, the corners of his mouth turning upwards into a tiny smile.

"That's amazing Jake! I'm so happy, really, this is the coolest thing" she said once she separated from him.

"Yeah, it is! How did we never talk about this?" he asked seriously.

"I don't know. It just never came up"

"Yeah, we were a little caught up with the whole bet thing"

"Yeah" she agreed.

"So, you wanna be my college girlfriend, or whatever?" he asked.

"Oh, real romantic Jake"

" _I_ thought so"

"Then, sure. Fine. _I guess_ " she said, turning her nose up.

"Still a 'yes' though, right?" he asked and this time he asked her seriously.

"Yeah, it's still a 'yes'" she said, tucking hair behind each ear.

"Good call" he said and this time he kissed her. "Her": Amy Santiago, his _girlfriend_. Jake was about to pull her even closer to him when she pulled back to look in his eyes.

"Hey, Jake?"

"Mm-hm?"

"What _was_ your GPA?" she asked, and he smirked. He brought his lips close to her ear.

" _I'll never tell_ " he said in the lowest of whispers.

* * *

Jake opened the trunk of his old, beat-up mustang and threw his bags inside. This was it. The summer was over. Well, _camp_ was over. He still had a few weeks to goof-off with Amy and he was looking forward to them. He looked over at Amy's pastel blue Volkswagen Bug and saw her throw bags in the trunk. The staff members were all mingling at the far end of the parking lot, shaking hands, giving hugs, and saying heart-felt goodbyes. Amy and Jake joined them, and Jake was reminded of how much he hated goodbyes. He always wished he could just keep everyone, that no one had to go away, but they did. He had to figure out how to accept that one day.

Slowly, the staff began to get in their cars and drive away, eventually leaving Jake and Amy alone in the parking lot.

"So I'll see you Wednesday, right?" she asked.

"Yup, pierogis and a laser tag" he agreed.

"Classic," she said and grabbed his hand, "I'll see you then"

"Yeah" he said as she tilted her chin towards him and he met her lips half-way, still holding her hand. She smiled at him.

"Bye, I'll see you Wednesday" she said and got inside her car. She clicked her seatbelt in, set-up her GPS, and turned the radio on. She looked out, waved at Jake one last time before backing out of her spot and drove onto the road, eventually disappearing from his sight.

Jake got inside his car and backed out as well. He drove to the road and took one last look at an old sign that said "CAMP SAFE AND AMUSING" in big, bold letters.

" _Thanks Camp Safe and Amusing. Ya done me good_ " he thought as Taylor Swift blared on his crappy speakers. As he began the winding road back to civilization, swerving and veering down the mountain, and singing loudly to 'Blank Space', he thought about Amy. He thought about their last kiss and her small farewell. He thought about his future and he thought about his future with Amy in it.

He saw late-night study sessions where they got nothing done, he saw himself bringing her coffee before class in the morning, saw them going to parties, and Amy pleading with him to leave because they had an exam in the morning. It was so easy to picture and he found himself smiling at these visions.

Jake might have really hated goodbyes and endings, but, if nothing else, he sure as hell loved a good start.

THE END

* * *

 **AN:** And scene! Thank you *SO* much for reading this silly little AU. I am beyond grateful.

So I have this headcanon that Jake was actually a great student during his school days, but was super done with formal things like reports when he got hired on to the force. He just got super annoyed and barely did them haha.

I guess that's it. I hope you liked this story. I have one idea for another AU (they're in college and Amy's an art history major and Jake's a music major focusing on Guitar and Piano), but if you have a suggestion for my next fic, then by all means follow me on tumblr at crystal-gem-jessie. Or if you just want to vent about your Peraltiago feels, feel free to do that as well. I am always here for support.

Thanks guys! I'll see you soon!


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